Johannesburg Temple

Monday, January 26, 2015

Well I believe this week went by so fast that it was over before it even started, but hey who knows. Everyday we go to the village of Phokeng to drop off and pick up the Elders. We go to the Mapeka's home and play with the kids. They are a lot of fun as you can see.

Sana and I

He really wanted to put my hearing aid in, so I let him. He really wants a pair and I assured him and told him trust me, no you don't. He hears fine, just likes the sound they make, as does everyone.

Favorite South African weather.

Love the green mixed with the clouds.

This is a snap shot of my area in Rustenburg. Most of the houses are built along side the mountains or hills compared to Montana.

We went to Krugerdorp on Friday for Zone Meeting, which was a lot of fun. I enjoy our zone and seeing all of them. Other than that, we are still teaching a bunch of people and all is going well. Last week I was called on by the Bishop just a few minutes before Sacrament meeting to give a talk, so that was sweet. The spirit prompted me to speak on "Recognizing the Spirit." All of us are born with the knowledge of what is good and what is evil. This is known as the "Light of Christ." When we feel joy, peace, long suffering, meekness or anything like unto it, we feel the spirit, which can come upon all people in different times if they are worthy. If you wish to have these feelings all the time, you must be baptized by the true authority of God. I know these things to be truth and is what I have done for the past 17 months. This church is true and only by the power of the Holy Ghost will you be able to know as well. Study the scriptures, pray and seek out answers to your questions. If you don't have a desire, you will never know until it is too late. This is my promise and testimony to all.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Well is has been another awesome week in Rustenburg and the work has picked up tremendously, since everybody has returned home from vacation. We are teaching lots and preparing them to be baptized next month in February. They come to church every week and everything is going great.

Elder Mead and I have started "six months to sexy" but since I have seven months remaining we shall call it "seven months to sexy". We have been getting up at 6 am every morning and doing a lot of great workouts. This one is for you Jon, we have been doing a lot of the Widow Maker by cross fit. It has been a while since I have worked out in the morning, which is probably why I puked after doing the Widow Maker. It did feel nice. Since then I have done it many more times and I'm getting back in shape. As you can see, we got some protein and other stuff to keep us more motivated. It is working out really well.

Yebo Babba!!!

Other than that, the other day we were up in the village of Phokeng for a funeral and they were feeding us biscuits. They can be compared to English Muffins back home, just a little drier and harder. So as I was eating the biscuit, Elder Mead informed me that there were ants crawling out of my biscuit. At first, I was kinda grossed out and then one of the guys said, it's good protein, it's good for you. I was like whatever, we're in Africa, so I ate the rest of the biscuit with Elder Mead.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Well it has been another sweet week of mission here in South Africa. It was transfer week, so we went down to Joburg to pick up another Elder to replace Elder Rizk in Phokeng. Elder Mead and I are together another transfer, so I am excited about that. In Joburg we went to Pizza Hut and I got to say, Domino's Pizza is a lot better. Couldn't believe it, but it is the truth.﻿

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Yummy! Yummy!

The Previous district!

I miss air conditioning SO MUCH!

We have found and are teaching lots of new and sweet people this year. I am super excited for the future and the work that is coming to pass. It's hard for me to believe that I have just over seven months left and then the family will pick me up here in South Africa. It is a bitter sweet feeling and I am so glad I have seven months to work.. I want to continue to work hard and enjoy this experience while I can. This Church is so true and will continue to be forever. If you have a desire to know of it's truthfulness, do something about it. Live the commandments, pray, read the scriptures and I PROMISE YOU, you will receive the answer you are looking for. I Love you all and hope you have a great week.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Wow what an awesome week and year this has been. I have spent the entire year of 2014 laboring is this beautiful vineyard of South Africa. I have been very fortunate to have traveled around to many parts and seen many different cultures. I made a goal at the end of 2013 to bare my testimony every fast Sunday and I am happy to say I did it and will continue to do so. I have stood in front of wards, branches and groups and testified of so many great things. The most important is that God lives and loves each one of us. His son Jesus Christ did come to this earth to perform the Atonement so that all of us could return to our Father in Heaven. I think the best part was hearing each and every one of the members, whether they be young or old, bare their testimony about this true church. It is quite an amazing sight.

As you can see I have posted many pictures and I hope you will all enjoy them. The first ones are from a place called Sun City, which is located way up in the Northwest part of South Africa. It is very beautiful and I look forward to taking the family here one day.

Sweet maze that of course we got lost in, but managed to overcome. As with all things, no matter how lost you may feel, you can always overcome and why not ask for a little help along the way from someone who only wants what's best for you.

The bridge to the maze!

The Great Sun City!

Two weeks ago we had lunch with the Ntiso family. I made stuffed burgers and Elder Mead made his special pancakes. It was a lot of fun and the best part was the food the members made for us. Scroll down for some delicious food shots!

Stuffed burgers!!!!

Mead's Pancake Galore!

For the Finale we had chicken hearts, pap and achar (made with rotten mangoes). Yummy yummy eh?

This last week we went to Nonofo and Shato's home. They are a brother and sister in our ward that are a lot of fun. They help us so much with missionary work and are two awesome people. I love them so much. We decided to have a mexican night, so Elder Mead and I made enchiladas and they made hard shell tacos. It was so nice. It has been a while since I have had Mexican food.

Ready to bake!

Ready to eat!

Ok, so this is the first dishwasher I have seen since I have been in South Africa and I had to take a picture of it. It made me so trunky!

Excellent, so this week we had the baptisms of Maili and Kelebogile. They both went super well and this is such a sweet way to start off the year 2015!

Well last, but not least. This is the Elders car in Phokeng after a member pulled the emergency brake and they skidded on the dirt road into a pole. It was not a pretty sight as you can see, but thankfully no one was was hurt and everyone walked away. Now we have one car vs. two all the way up here, so this will be an interesting few weeks until the car is fixed. Other then that Life is awesome.

Well everyone, I hope you all had a sweet year of 2014 and I hope you will make 2015 even better. I love you all and will talk to you next week.